Conscientious employers have always been concerned for the safety of their workers. In addition, as disability and medical costs have soared in recent years, employers can realize a major economic benefit by improving workplace safety. Workers in a variety of industries frequently experience muscular and skeletal injuries. For example, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reported that spending for lower back injuries paid as Workers' Compensation, in medical and other direct costs, totaled 30 billion dollars in 1986. it was further reported that by the end of the century about fifty cents of every dollar paid as Workers' Compensation will go toward musculoskeletal injuries. Workers who must service equipment which may be electrically energized also face the constant risk of burns or even electrocution. Many of these accidents and injuries result directly or indirectly from the use of common hand tools in the workplace.
The safety coordinator of a major utility company reported that the tool packs of some of their linemen weighed as much as 70 lbs. The high incidence of muscular and skeletal injuries was directly attributed to excessive weight, especially for those workers involved in stressful environments such as outdoor work, climbing poles, etc. In addition, it was reported that insulated hand tools would provide a valuable measure of safety against the following high risk circumstances: one, the chance of electrical shock due to inadvertent contact with live electrical components; two, the possibility of flash-over between phases or phase to ground due to bridging of the live components or from live component to ground by the non-insulated part of the tool, such accidents resulting in risk of burns and eye injury to the user; three, the possibility that the user will inadequately insulate their own personal hand tools with electrical tape or heat shrink materials; and four, the risk of damage to electrical equipment caused by accidental contact of metal tools with energized components. It was further pointed out that since the primary side of transformers was not fused, an inadequately insulated tool dropped in the wrong location could result in massive damage to equipment and a dangerous environment for the worker.
In response to the need for safer hand tools for workers in the electrical fields, the International Electrotechnical Commission has developed a standard to cover hand tools for live working up to 1,000 volts AC and 1,500 volts DC (IEC 900). Hand tools currently available which conform to the standard are typically a traditional metal shank covered by one or two layers of a plastic insulation material. While this can provide an adequate level of protection against electrical hazards, the so called insulated tools are actually heavier and bulkier than standard hand tools. Furthermore, their long-term reliability is not assured due to the likelihood of cuts, wear, and contaminants becoming embedded in the surface of the insulating material. This presents a major difficulty to employers wishing to provide their workers with safer hand tools. Because of the vulnerability of the insulating material, it will be necessary to frequently inspect and retest the insulating capability of the tool. In practice, this may be virtually impossible due to the large proliferation of hand tools and the difficulties of keeping a log on each and every tool. Furthermore, since a cut which would ruin the insulating capability of the tool could occur at any moment, there is really no safe inspection interval that can ensure that the insulating properties will never be compromised. As stated earlier, the insulated hand tools will actually aggravate the problem of tool weight and ergonomics due to their increased weight and bulk, so the enhanced safety for electrical risks is being obtained at some expense of other safety aspects.
It is therefore an object of this invention to greatly enhance workplace safety by providing a practical, self-insulating hand tool, while also providing weight savings, which benefits all workers.